Bunker prices have slipped further down with Brent over the weekend, and gale is set to suspend bunkering in Algoa Bay this afternoon.
Changes on the day from Friday, to 08.00 GMT today:
- VLSFO prices down in Rotterdam and Durban ($7/mt) and Gibraltar ($3/mt)
- LSMGO prices down in Gibraltar ($4/mt). Rotterdam and Durban ($3/mt)
- HSFO prices down in Gibraltar ($8/mt) and Rotterdam ($4/mt)
ARA’s fuel oil inventories were drawn to two-month lows last week amid a big low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) cargo exported out of the hub to Singapore, Insights Global data and vessel tracking showed.
Availability of VLSFO, HSFO380 and LSMGO remains good in ARA and Gibraltar Strait ports.
A supplier is delayed by 2-3 hours in Gibraltar, and a vessel is waiting for its bunker barge to become ready, port agent MH Bland says.
There is calm weather and minimal delays across the Gibraltar Strait, Canary Islands and off Malta today. The Strait ports are forecast with a short bout of strong winds between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.
Algoa Bay had strong winds and high waves over the weekend. Some vessels were already delayed after a period of rough weather last week. Suppliers have been able to work through some of their backlogs during calmer weather on Friday and today.
Gale and waves of over 4 metres are forecast in Algoa Bay will most likely trigger another suspension this afternoon.
“There will be a definite suspension of bunker supplies within the bay with conditions forecasted to start improving from 02h00 21.09.21 onwards,” shipping agent Sturrock Grindrod said.
Bunker suppliers in the bay are currently finishing up deliveries before halting operations as weather conditions are deteriorating.
Algoa Bay and Port Elizabeth continue to price low sulphur fuels at wide premiums over Durban, Richards Bay and Cape Town:
- VLSFO at $42-47/mt premiums
- LSMGO at $17-26/mt premiums
VLSFO prices in Port Elizabeth, Durban, Richards Bay and Cape Town since 1 August
Brent
Front-month ICE Brent has dipped $0.71/bbl lower on the day from Friday, to $74.54/bbl at 08.00 GMT today.
Brent has extended its losses from the previous session and dropped below the $75/bbl mark again. Recovering US crude production has eased some of the upward pressure on the futures contract.
About 23% of production from rigs and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico is still offline, but this is down from around 96% when Hurricane Ida struck three weeks ago, figures from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement showed Friday.
Brent rose to seven-week highs last week, after Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed a bigger-than-expected draw of US crude stockpiles. After two weeks of crippled US crude production, the country’s commercial stockpiles have been drawn down to two-year lows.
A stronger US dollar has weighed on Brent and other dollar-denominated commodities.
“Strength in the USD over the last couple of days has provided some headwinds to the market,” said ING strategists Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao.